2007 has been tipped as the year many agencies and in house PR practitioners will be looking at their online presence. The state of your website, and the experience a user has once they get there, affects how people perceive your company and your brand online.

The first action you should take when revamping your online PR strategy is an audit of your online footprint.

The Web Marketing Association’s Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR), provides industry-specific benchmarking data for web development that can assist you in the process.

For the second year in a row, the ISAR Index has shown a decline in the overall standard of excellence in Web development across 96 industries.

The WebAward’s seven criteria for a successful Website include:

• Design
• Innovation
• Content
• Technology
• Interactivity
• Copywriting
• Ease of Use

According to the ISAR report, the five best industries for Website development in 2006 were:

1. Airline Websites
2. Computer Retailer Websites
3. Game Site Websites
4. Toy & Hobby Websites
5. Food Websites

The worst overall industry websites included those such as Brokerages, Credit Unions and ISP websites. You can get a copy of the report at http://www.webaward.org/isar_report.asp